Numerous types of floor-mopping apparatuses have been devised over the years. Generally speaking, they allow the user to stand upright while placing the cleaning element of the mopping apparatus in contact with a floor surface. Accordingly, such floor-mopping apparatuses are intended to provide a labor-saving and effort-reducing approach to cleaning a floor on one's hands and knees with a sponge, cloth and/or brush.
The present invention relates specifically to string mops with an integral mop head wringing mechanism. A string mop includes a mop head having a plurality of cotton or synthetic strings, or non-woven strips attached to a mop head for absorbing fluids and for cleaning the floor surface. Alternatively, the plurality of strings may be replaced with a single, soft cloth, which has general configuration and conformability similar to that of the plurality of strings.
The integral mop head wringing mechanisms of known string mops remove water and other absorbed liquids from the strings of the mop head by squeezing the strings. Depending on the specific configuration of such known mop head wringing mechanisms, wringing of the strings of the mop head is facilitated by a twisting action or by opposing members that compress the strings therebetween.
Known mop head wringing mechanisms suffer from one or more drawbacks. One drawback is that some known mop head wringing mechanisms require manual twisting of the mop head or mop head engaging device. This requirement for such manual twisting potentially puts a person's hands in contact with contaminants that the mop has removed from the floor and can require a person to exert an undesirable amount of hand strength to wring the mop head. Another drawback is that some known mop head wringing mechanisms require separate actions for moving the mop head from a use position to a wringing position and then from the wringing position to a wringed position. Such a requirement complicates wringing the mop head. Still another drawback is that some known mop head wringing mechanisms incorporate a bulky and/or complex device having opposing members that compress the strings of the mop head therebetween. Such a bulky and/or complex device detracts from the simplicity of a mop and adds to the physical size of a mop.
Therefore, a mop head wringing mechanism for a string mop that overcomes drawbacks associated with conventional mop head wringing mechanisms would be useful and advantageous.